


Journey's End

by agent_atlas



Category: The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveller's Wife (2009)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, I figured I should upload it somewhere lol, I wrote this so long ago when I first saw the movie and its just been sitting on my computer, Second Person, back when i was really into that, its a sad but its to be expected tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-06 00:44:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20498078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agent_atlas/pseuds/agent_atlas
Summary: "Come on." He says, and pats his lap. His voice betrays the tears he was fighting to keep at bay, and in the end, that is what makes your feet move.You shuffle towards him and carefully seat yourself in his lap, careful not to jostle his leg.He brings a hand to your face, traces the features he knows so well, and then he's hugging you, as if you are the sole thing keeping him on this earth. And who knows, maybe you are.





	Journey's End

You walk through the house, and see your friends mingling, laughing at jokes you cannot hear, and you smile. You keep walking, feel proud when you hear the soft tones of your daughter's violin in the next room over, and take a moment to revel in all that you have built for yourself.  
A sound from the balcony draws your attention, and when you walk towards it you see Gomez with his back to you, talking to Henry. You quickly grab a blanket and rush outside, throw it over his legs. Gomez shares a look with Henry,and quickly pulls him in for a hug, before making a quick exit. You stare at Henry, confused, and you hear Gomez telling the guests to give you two a few minutes alone. Your confusion grows even more at this, but still Henry says nothing. He just stares.  
And you stare right back.  
You notice the tears gathering in his eyes, how he tries to blink them back. Notice the grim set of his mouth. And that's when it hits you, and suddenly the world fades away until it's just you and him and the cold feeling in the pit of your stomach that has nothing to do with the snow gathering on the ground.  
"No..." You whisper, begging for his fate to change even though you know it won't.  
He swallows hard, and grabs your hand.  
"Come here." he says, and gives a slight tug.  
You stand, unmoving, unable to process that this is your last night together, his last night as a living being.  
"Come on." He says, and pats his lap. His voice betrays the tears he was fighting to keep at bay, and in the end, that is what makes your feet move.  
You shuffle towards him and carefully seat yourself in his lap, careful not to jostle his leg.  
He brings a hand to your face, traces the features he knows so well, and then he's hugging you, as if you are the sole thing keeping him on this earth. And who knows, maybe you are.  
You pull away, but keep your hands on his neck.  
"Why did you let me invite all these people?" You ask.  
He turns his head and looks through the balcony doors, at the people oblivious of what was to come, and then he turns back to you.  
"I didn't want you to be alone." He says, as if it is the simplest thing in the world.  
Figures, you think to yourself, that on the night of his death he is still thinking of you.  
You hold his face in your hands, run your fingertips over the stubble that has started to grow on his face, and suddenly there are words on your tongue that you feel he needs to hear.  
"Hey. Hey, I wouldn't change anything.” you say, your hands finding their way to his face, your fingers slowly caressing his cheeks. “I would not give up one second of our life together." you tell him, and as you say it, memories flash through your head, your first dance as husband and wife, of picking out a house to grow old in together, of raising your daughter, and you know that every word that you said is true. Know that if you were given the chance to do it all again, you would, you absolutely would, because you love him, more than you thought you could ever love anybody.  
And this, you think, is what makes life cruel. It gives you something great, something you can't stand to lose, and rips it away right when you think everything might just be okay.  
You are brought out of your thoughts by the feeling of his lips on yours.  
Fireworks explode over your head, and you feel his tears on the hand that still rests on his face. But neither of you pull away, you keep going, you keep going until you feel him dissolving beneath you, until all that is left is a pile of clothes in an empty wheelchair.  
Silently, you get up and gather his things, fold them into a neat little pile and rest them on the wheelchair, which you roll into the kitchen and tuck neatly into the corner.  
You stay there for an unknown amount of time, until Gomez walks in and, spotting the pile of clothes stacked on the chair, pulls you in for a hug. You wrap your arms around him, grateful for the comfort, for the knowledge that it is not just you going through this. You both return to the party, try to act normal when your life is anything but.  
You are chatting with his father when you hear the sound of choking by the staircase, and you take off at a run. Henry is there, just as you knew he'd be, with a gaping red hole just below his ribs. You fall to your knees and grab his hand, bring your face close to his.  
"I love you. More than anything." He manages to gasp, and you want him to stop, because it sounds like goodbye and you feel like you had just barely said hello. You know you are being irrational, you knew this day was coming, but you suppose things in real life are always different than things in theory.  
You choke back the sobs that are building in your throat, and bring your free hand up to his face.  
"I love you. I'll always love you. Always." You whisper.  
The guests all stand around you, staring on in horror as the scene unfolds. Alba shoulders her way through them, comes to kneel at your side, and Henry reaches out for her.  
"Alba, sweetie." He whispers.  
"Daddy." She grabs his outstretched hand, and there are no tears on her face. You wonder how your daughter has become so strong, you wonder if it is perhaps because she knows this is not the last time she will see him. The past holds more adventures for Alba than it ever will for anyone else.  
His breaths are more labored now, yet another sign that his end is near, and you let your tears fall, unable to hold them back any longer.  
He heaves one final breath, and his hand in hers goes slack.  
Your sobs come out even harder.  
You eventually feel someone’s hand on your shoulder, gently steering you away from Henry, from the only person who ever really knew you.

_____

You’re in the kitchen of your parent’s house, making your daughter’s favorite meal when it happens.  
Gomez’s son runs into the kitchen, screaming for you to follow, Hurry!’s and It’s urgent’s falling from his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> As I said in the tags, this is an old doc that I just wanted to throw out there.......ten years later. Hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
